Automatic switching device



2, 1966 R. H. LEE 3,264,429

AUTOMATIC SWITCHING DEVICE Filed May 2, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR.

,Q/IY H LEE BY ATTOPNEY Aug. 2, 1966 R. H. LEE 3,264,429

AUTOMATIC SWITCHING DEVICE Filed May 2, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 7

Fig. 9

a C e (2 0 LOAD 50 INVENTOR.

52 PAY H. LEE

ATTOQ/VEY United States Patent 3,264,429 AUTOMATIQ SWITCHING DEVICE Ray H. Lee, 2 Sturgis Road, Kendall Park, NJ. Filed May 2, 1963, Ser. No. 277,560 3 Claims. (Cl. 200112) The invention relates to an automatic switching device and in particular is directed to an electronic type automatic making and breaking switching device used in wide range frequency operations.

Automatic make-and-break switching devices such as vibrators, utilized in transforming interrupted D.C. voltages to high A.C. voltages for purposes of rectification in vehicles such as cars, boats, trains, and the like, carrying battery sources of energy, are limited in their operations. The limitations involved are concerned with frequency of operation as interrupting a continuous energized circuit, the inertia of the current carrying contacts, the amount of current carrying capacity of the contacts and sparking resulting from rapid contact making and breaking procedures. All of these factors limit the life of the vibrator and in devices of a similar nature, so that replacement thereof becomes time consuming, costly, and ineificient.

To overcome these limitations, the invention as embodied herein involves the use of an enclosure wherein a narrow path is provided therein in which is permitted to travel a small amount of mercury or some other highly concentrated mobile type fluid, medium, or body, and capable of conducting an electric current. In reality, an electric force is supplied to this current carrying body in the form of a magnetomotive force for propelling the body along the path provided therefor. Further, the current carrying body in its free path movement engages a series of spaced contacts diametrically opposed which permits the flow of a continuous electric current and thereafter discontinues when the body continues on past the contacts where the circuit is broken. The makeand-break frequency is determined by the spacing of the contacts and by the movement of the current carrying body, which is in turn determined by the current and the magnetic field. Hence, a wide range of make-and-break frequency is realized by simply adjusting the magnetic field. To reduce the likelihood of sparking and pitting resulting from discontinuous current flow by the motion of the moving body in the path along which the said body is permitted to flow, the enclosure or path is either evacuated or filled with inert gas under pressure so that no oxygen of any kind remains to support oxidizing and pitting.

The device just described is not self-starting since the current carrying body must be in a contacting position when starting. Self-starting can be assured when the device in use is stationary by providing a starting tilt to the device or by mounting the device in a contacting position. This provision is unnecessary for most applications where the device in use is not stationary, where the random motion of the device is suflicient for selfstarting.

It is therefore one of the principal objects of the invention to provide an improved type automatic switching device.

It is another object of the invention to provide an automatic switching device capable of very wide frequency operation with high current carrying capacity and with minimum space requirements.

Another object of the invention is to provide a switching device which is free from deterioration resulting from pitting and sparking, and which is eflicient, economical, rugged and having long life.

Other objects of the invention will become more readily apparent from a study of the specification and accompanying drawings.

FIGURE 1 shows the structural arrangement partially exposed, of the invention and the manner in which the current carrying body is made to traverse a fixed path to permit a making and breaking of contacts along the said path.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section of a structural arrangement of FIGURE 1 and having a permanent type magnet arranged therein.

FIGURE 3 shows a sectional portion of the structure of FIGURE. 1 through the lines 3--3.

FIGURE 4 is similar to FIGURE 2 with the exception that an electro-magnet is used to generate the magnetomotive force as compared to a permanent magnet in FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 5 shows a single coil type winding that can be used as the electro-magnet.

FIGURE 6 shows an electro-magnet with one or more secondary windings.

FIGURES 7 through 10 are typical circuit arrangements and applications for utilizing the invention as embodied in FIGURES 1 through 4.

It has been previously stated that automatic making and breaking devices such as vibrators are utilized in practice for making and breaking circuits and thereby transforming direct current to alternating current, for relay controls, etc. The present skills in electronics, television, and general electrical devices, require automatic make-and-break devices of higher current capacity as Well as higher and/or lower make-andbreak frequency than existing vibrators. To this end the present invention has been devised with a view towards eliminating these shortcomings.

Now describing the invention, there is shown in FIG- URES 1 through 4 a structural arrangement comprising a circular fiat type structure or enclosure I having a pair of cylindrical flange type annular members 2, 3 in spacial axial alignment with the flanged portions 5, 6 facing and in proximity to each other. The flanges 5 and 6 are further circularly inwardly grooved to permit circular tubular toroidally shaped member 7 to reside within the said grooves, thereby permitting the said flange members 2 and 3 when structurally attached by means of attaching screws 8, 9 to form a complete solid unitary structure therewith. The cylindrical molded flanged members 2 and 3 are made of magnetic materials, solid, laminated, molded powder, or otherwise, capable of providing a conductive path for magnetic flux with low magnetic loss as produced or generated by a magnetic source member 10. The magnetic source member 10, in the form of a small cylindrical mass is placed at the central part of members 2 and 3 along the inner faces thereof. The magnetic source member 10 may be in the form of a permanent type magnet 11, as shown in FIG- URE 2, or an electro-magnetic type member 12 as shown in FIGURE 4.

The toroidally shaped tubular member 7 may be composed of glass or some similar kind of composition, plastic and other types of material which are permeable to magnetic fields. Further the tubular member 7 is hollow and completely sealed and may be either under a vacuum or may have placed therein an inert gas under pressure to assure freedom from any sparking, pitting, oxidation and/or decomposition of the contact members within the framework of the tube structure.

There is arranged along the inner and outer periphery of the tubular member 7 a series or plurality of spaced diametrically disposed contacts 3-1, 3-2. The contacts may have connections extending without the tube for purposes of making connection to external circuitry or may be permanently short-circuited or preconnected, de-

pending on the application. Within the tubular member 7, and free to traverse the path therein, there is inserted a drop of mercury 20 or some other fluid material capable of conducting electricity and maintaining a fluid flexibility so as to continually take the form of the tube structure in its traverse. Hence, as the movement of the fluid member 20 is made to traverse the tubular path, contact will be made between respective pairs of contacts 3-1, 3-2, thereby permitting current to flow across any given set of contacts at such time as the contacts are in contact with the said fluid or drop. It is possible to arrange the drop size so that in its traverse it may contact one set of contacts before leaving the previous ones, or may completely become disengaged from one set of contacts before the next set is engaged.

Motion is imparted to the fluid member 20 by means of the well known principles of generating motion in an electric field where current is flowing therethrough, similar to those in electric motors. In other words, by having current traverse the fluid member, and simultaneously therewith have this current pass along a magnetic field at right angles to it, motion will be imparted to the drop in a direction at right angles to a plane in which the other two forces are operating. Hence, once this motion is imparted to the drop, the said drop will continue to flow through the tubular structure by continually making contacts between the various contacts along the path of flow of the said drop within the tubular structure. As each set of contacts are engaged by the fluid member, current will flow therethrough and through the magnetic field which is continually or synchronously flowing from the magnetic source 11, 12, through the flanged pieces and across the tubular member 7. Each time the contacts are thus engaged, a magnetomotive force is imparted to the fluid member to continue its motion. The flux path essentially comprises the source 11, 12 the flow radially outward from annular pieces 2, 3 and cross their respective flanges 5, 6 across the gap occupied by the tubular member 7. The flux path is essentially a continuous one and is determined by flux source 11, 12.

Having described in part the operation of the invention as embodied herein, it is now necessary to show certain applications utilizing the invention. I

In particular as shown in FIGURE 7, a circuit is arranged so that a pair of contacts 3-1, 3-2, slmilar to those previously discussed, are connected between some external load and a source of potential 30 and an electromagnetic coil 1-1 in series with a controlled rheostat 31. The coil 11 is the source of magnetic flux whose magnitude is controlled by the rheostat 31. The contacts 3-1, 3-2 are the contacts shown in FIGURE 1 and are respectively short-circuited and arranged to be connected via the moving fluid member 20 previously described 1n connection with FIGURE 1. Essentially when the current carrying body is in contacting position, current will flow to the load, the magnitude of the current and magnetic flux determining the amount of force that will be imparted to the moving fluid member. The result is that the load as shown receives energy from the energy source 30 in a periodic fashion depending upon the frequency with which contacts 3-1, 3-2 are made and broken, this frequency of operation being controllable by the adjustment of rheostat 31. The load may represent in part the primary winding of a transformer and where the source is a DC. source then the secondary of the transformer will yield an A.C. voltage which can be changed to a D.C. voltage different from that of the source upon rec tification and appropriate filtering. This particular application is generally used to change DC. to A.C. where DC. is available such as in cars and boats It can be seen that this particular application may act as a suitable substitute for ordinary vibrators as generally used in the art. This application may also be used where automatic makel and-break for the load is required with a source 30 being DC. or A.C.

In FIGURE 8 there is shown a modification of the circuit shown in FIGURE 7 and in particular the load circuit thereof is replaced by the primary winding 11 of a transformer in series with a rheostat 34. Here again the winding 11 is the magnetic flux source generated by the passage of current therethrough produced by DC. energy source 35. In operation when the contacts 3-1, 3-2 are respectively shorted, in accordance with the principles involved herein, the secondary transformer circuit 1-2 will yield an A.C. voltage when the source of the primary circuit is D.C. so that the whole operation is equivalent to an ordinary vibrator-transformer combination. The frequency of operation may again be controlled by the operation of the rheostat 34, since it determines the amount of current that will flow between the contacts 3-1, 3-2 and therefore through the moving fluid member 20 in the tubular core 7. Since the frequency of making and breaking the circuit is controllable by the rheostat, the voltage output across the transformer secondary 1-2 is likewise controlled and the rectified D.C. made a function thereof. Further, it is possible to provide a feed-back arrangement through the rheostat from the rectified DC. or other output so as to control the rectified voltage output regardless of changes in variations of the DC. potential source 35.

Another application of the invention as embodied herein is shown in FIGURE 9 where there are a plurality of load circuits, each in turn connected to the contacts disposed along the tubular structure shown in FIGURE 1. In particular there is shown a circuit arrangement having loads L-l, L-2 and L-3 each connected respectively to contacts 3-2a, 3-2b, and 3-2c, all on one periphery of the tube structure with the corresponding diametrically opposed contacts on the other periphery of the tube structure being connected together and to a source of potential 40. Across the source potential there is also connected electro-magnetic coil 11 in series with rheostat 42 for adjustment purposes as previously described. It may be appreciated here that although only three load circuits are shown, any number can be chosen depending upon the number of contacts provided in the tube structure. Here again, the sequence of operation is similar to that previously described in connection with the other figures so that each of the load circuits may be excited in a sequential type of operation similar to that used in connection with lighting displays and the like. In the case of lighting display this operation adds attraction to the display with intensity variations in a sequential display. Where an A.C. source is available, the frequency of rotation of the moving fluid member traversing the tubular path does not in general bear a whole multiplier relationship with that of the source potential. However, synchronisation can be maintained by means of adjusting the rheostat 42 manually or automatically. When synchronisation is retained, the voltage across any load is pulsed D.C. even when the source 40 is A.C. This makes it possible to obtain direct D.C. voltages stepped down from that of the A.C. source through synchronized switchinga very powerful rectification method.

FIGURE 10 shows another arrangement for utilizing the principles of the invention embodied herein, and in particular shows an arrangement for producing pulses having different amplitudes and polarity. In particular the circuit shows a source of potential 50' connected across a parallel combination of two rheostats 51 and 52 with one of the rheostats having connected in series therewith electromagnetic coil 1-1. One side of the source potential 50 is connected to alternate contacts A, C, E,

on one side of the tubular structure periphery. The other side of the source potential 50 is connected to alternate contacts b, d, f, on the other tubular periphery except that these contact connections are circumferentially displaced by one contact spacing or the space between adjacent contacts along one of the tubular peripheries.

Finally a load circuit is connected to the center tap of a rheostat 52 and the other end tied to a continuous connecting link, the link connecting continuously alternate contacts a, B, c, D, e, F on each side of the tubular structure of periphery. Thus, if the source potential is D.C., alternating pulses will be generated across the load circuit. According to the adjustment of the center tap on rheostat 52 the peak values of positive and negative pulses can be made equal or unequal. In a similar fashion an alternating pulse wave is generated across the load when the source is A.C. with peak values of the pulses following the envelope of the A.C. source with positive to negative pulse rat-i0 the same as the voltage ratio NO to OM. This pulsed wave becomes periodic when appropriately synchronized.

It can be seen that by suitable other connections of the contacts, more complicated waves may be generated in the various applications disclosed. In FIGURE 7 if the source of potential were A.C., a pulsed A.C. voltage wave would be generated across the load. The pulse Wave may or may not be identical from period to period ofthe A.C. source, even if the A.C. source were periodic. However, periodic pulsed A.C. wave can be obtained when the rheostat is so adjusted that the rotational frequency of the contacter, making and breaking of contacts by commutation action, is synchronized with the frequency of the A.C. source. The arrangement of FIG- URE 9 enables the generation of double, triple -or other pulses, DC. or A.C. depending upon the source and by various connections of the loads to the contacts. Also for an A.C. source and for synchronized operation, the voltage waves across any load are D.C. pulses of equal magnitude which thus in reality becomes equivalent to DC. rectification. Hence, many rectifier type operations are available with voltages equal to or less than the maximum voltage of the A.C. source.

There are many other changes and modifications which can be made or suggested without detracting from the invention as detailed herein.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. An automatic switching device comprising a cylindrical hollow enclosure composed of connected dual flanged annular members each disposed to have internally a toroidal shaped path, a toroidally shaped hollow tubular member placed in said path and forming an integral part of and completely surrounded by said enclosure, magnetic means in said enclosure to produce a continuous transverse magnetic field across each portion of said tubular member, spaced diametrically opposed contact means circumferentially placed along the inner and outer periphery of said tubular member and extending within and without the wall thereof, movable fluid droplet means disposed within the said tubular member and having freedom of motion therein to conductively engage sequentially the said contact means and cause the fiow of current between the respective diametrically opposed contacts.

2. An automatic switching device according to claim 1 and wherein the said magnetic means includes a permanent unitary magnet disposed centrally Within said enclosure for elfecting a magnetic field radially across the flanged annular members and across the said tubular member.

3. An automatic switching device according to claim 1 and wherein the said magnetic means includes an electromagnet disposed centrally within said enclosure for elfecting a magnetic field radially across the flanged annular members and across the said tubular member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,773,036 8/1930 Fitzgerald 200-112 X 2,859,303 11/1958 Anderson 200-112 3,189,709 6/ 1965 Ackerman 200112 ROBERT K SC HAEFER, Primary Examiner, 

1. AN AUTOMATIC SWITCHING DEVICE COMPRISING A CYLINDRICAL HOLLOW ENCLOSURE COMPOSED OF CONNECTED DUAL FLANGED ANNULAR MEMBERS EACH DISPOSED TO HAVE INTERNALLY A TOROIDAL SHAPED PATH, A TOROIDALLY SHAPED HOLLOW TUBULAR MEMBER PLACED IN SAID PATH AND FORMING AN INTEGRAL PART OF AND COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY SAID ENCLOSURE, MAGNETIC MEANS IN SAID ENCLOSURE TO PRODUCE A CONTINUOUS TRANSVERSE MAGNETIC FIELD ACROSS EACH PORTION OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, SPACED DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED CONTACT MEANS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY PLACED ALONG THE INNER AND OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER AND EXTENDING WITHIN AND WITHOUT THE WALL THEREOF, MOVABLE FLUID DROPLET MEANS DISPOSED WITHIN THE SAID TUBULAR MEMBER AND HAVING FREEDOM OF MOTION THEREIN TO CONDUCTIVELY ENGAGE SEQUENTIALLY THE SAID CONTACT MEANS AND CAUSE THE FLOW OF CURRENT BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED CONTACTS. 